


Blooming Lilacs (I Don’t Care What’s in Your Hair, I Just Want to Know What’s on Your Mind)

by Emejig16



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Pastel Dan, Phanfiction, Punk Phil, shy!Dan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 18:05:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4189722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emejig16/pseuds/Emejig16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil knows he looks a little rough but he wants everyone, especially his roommate Dan, who is painfully shy but ultimately a giant sweetheart, to know that he genuinely is a nice person and is always going to be here for what makes him most comfortable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blooming Lilacs (I Don’t Care What’s in Your Hair, I Just Want to Know What’s on Your Mind)

**Author's Note:**

> Heylo, is punk!phil and pastel!dan still a thing (I know I’m late to the party but hush)?
> 
> The title is long as hell I'm aware but I wanted the fic to be both of those titles and I couldn't choose so…

There was a lot to assume about who Phil was. Was he the cold rocker or the apathetic grunge boy who reeked of coffee and needed another three hours of sleep? Was he the not so secret nerd or a plaid enthusiast?  Either way his septum piercing, eyebrow piercing and seemingly always messy hair didn’t describe him properly. Sure his languid stride, with his hands always in his pockets as he walked around campus had a way of making people clear the path. He got a variety of looks, sometimes it was a disapproving glance other times it was pure thirst, but most of the time it was a look of slight terror on their face. But he was in no way intentionally intimidating, he just wore a lot of plaid and black skinny jeans. He didn’t think he had a hard glare or anything. Okay, sure he had a pretty sick ass lion tattoo on his arm and few other tattoos but where anyone got the idea that he was some ruthless guy he’s not sure. All he ever did was smile at people and help them out.

According to his roommate he was some intimidating unfriendly person of sorts. The guy has probably said a total of twenty words to him since their first day. After nearly three weeks of class, the only thing Phil knew about him was his name, his major, that he didn’t like getting up early and that he blushed a lot. That was a lie, Phil also knew that whenever he wanted to change he’d walk to the bathrooms and do it there, and whenever Phil would change or even just remove one article of clothing, he’d ask if he wanted him to leave the room.

Phil ran his hand through his black hair with a yawn. He absentmindedly licked over his snakebites as he waited in line for his iced coffee. He’d been up so late studying last night he had no clue what he was actually going to do in class. He looked around the coffee shop, taking in the atmosphere. This was his kind of thing: the thick aroma of coffee, the quiet chatter and soft laughter, the clicking of keyboards, the people just sitting and staring out the window, and those who were on the run and in the shop temporarily like himself. Phil wasn’t sure why this was always the highlight of his morning but starting the day just didn’t feel right without being here. It probably had to do with the sound it brought after fairly quiet nights with no talking; it brought his mind back to socialization. 

As soon as Phil had gotten his coffee he made his way to class. Maybe he should go back and get one for–okay maybe he lied; he didn’t remember his roommate’s name. No that was a lie too, his name was Dan he was sure of that. Yes, it was Dan; he remembered how softly he said it and the three times he asked him to repeat it before he heard him correctly.

Phil looked down at his scuffed up black boots as he walked. For once it was pleasantly sunny although it was a bit cool out.  When Phil got to class he took his normal spot in the second row from front. In his opinion, there was no better place to sit, because you were close enough to the professor to know who you are, but far enough back that if you want to slack off you didn’t feel as bad about it. A few minutes before class began, Dan walked in and took his typical seat next to him without saying a word.

Phil knew that this was Dan’s second (and last) class of the day. He couldn’t even imagine having a class at eight am, having about a twenty-five minute break, and then going to another class, still quite early in the day (even though it was already past eleven am). Today, Dan was wearing grey jeans and a floral shirt. From what Phil noticed he wore a lot of pastel colors and floral prints with blacks and greys. It was a nice style, or at least Phil thought so. Dan also had on a yellow flower crown to match the flowers on his shirt; it was a really well put together outfit.

“Hey,” Phil greeted with a warm smile as Dan took out his laptop to take notes. 

“Hi,” Dan responded softly, avoiding looking at Phil.

“I like your flower crown. It’s neat,” Phil said quietly as the professor began his lecture.

“Thanks,” Dan replied, turning the slightest shade of pink. 

They didn’t say anything else for the rest of class, not that Phil had the chance to try and initiate any form of communication between them. He supposed he’d see him back in their room and he could try again later.  He couldn’t really blame Dan for not talking to him. For all he knew Dan could be super introverted and even the small interactions they did have could be extremely tough for him. Phil set his musings aside as he finished his lunch. It was always interesting getting to know new people because everyone had different habits, especially with socialization. 

Later in the afternoon when Phil went back to their room, Dan was playing music as he sat at his desk doing work. He watched as Dan tapped his foot along to the beat before setting his stuff down, causing Dan to jump and turn down the music.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were back,” Dan said softly.

“No, it’s cool. I like Twenty-One Pilots,” Phil said reassuringly as he removed his coat. “Turn it up.” 

Dan turned up the music and went back to doing his schoolwork quietly. Phil sat on his bed with his laptop, trying to figure out what would be a good starting thing to say to open up a real conversation. He was just afraid of seeming pushy or weird. He just really wanted to be friends with the person he was going to be living with for the next several months. Phil looked at Dan for a couple of minutes taking note of his slightly slouched posture as he sat and the way he chewed on the pen in his mouth. It was probably strange of him to be studying his roommate like this but he was honestly just wracking his brain for something to say.

“Hey Dan?” Phil started. “How do you like your coffee?” he asked, thinking of his predicament from earlier.

“What?” Dan replied, turning to face Phil.

“Just, how do you like your coffee? I was going to get you one this morning when I got mine, but then I realized I didn’t know what you even like to get from the coffee shop,” Phil explained. 

“Oh,” Dan replied with a faint blush. He looked away from Phil and started to play with his fingers. He shrugged, “I like vanilla lattes more than straight coffee.”

“So just get you a vanilla latte?” Phil said with a chuckle.

Dan bit his lip. “You don’t have to do that,” he said, his voice quieter. 

“Yeah, but I want to. It must suck having a class at eight am.”

“I guess you just get used to it,” Dan said as he walked over to his own bed and sat down on it. Phil chuckled as he focused his attention back on the work he was doing on his laptop. They descended back into their typical silence. The steady clatter of Phil’s keyboard was the only noise aside from the quiet writing Dan was doing in the notebook he kept under his pillow. 

Phil smiled to himself as he thought about how much he’d talked to Dan today. Dan seemed like such an interesting person with a lot flowing in his head. Phil could tell by how precisely he did everything, and the way it seemed like he was always thinking about something. He wanted to know what was on his mind and what he thought about and maybe what inspired him. No one just does a media and film or photography class for nothing; there was an idea–a muse even behind it. 

-

Although it wasn’t much of anything, that day opened up some sort of window between Dan and Phil. Over the next couple of weeks, the two of them would have some sort of daily back and forth about something–mostly frivolous topics that were for the sake of trying to get to know each other better; little things such as favorite color, show, interests, or in Dan’s case, asking Phil about his piercings and tattoos.

For whatever reason, Dan seemed to be very fascinated by them or maybe they were the easiest thing for him to pick out for Phil to carry the conversation instead of himself. Dan really liked the lion on his arm and would never fail to tell him that. He’d say, “Sorry, I know I say this all the time but I really like your lion tattoo,” and Phil would just chuckle and say, “I’m glad you do.” 

As Dan became more open, it was as if their room got brighter. The more they talked with one another, the more they realized they had in common. Neither of them thought that the university really paid that much attention to what the applicants say about themselves and the type of person they’d like to room with, but whoever did their rooming assignment hit the nail right on the head. 

“Uh Phil?” Dan asked quietly.

“Yeah Dan?” Phil asked.

“Do you uh, do you mind if I change here?”

“Dan, I’ve said it a million times I really don’t mind. I won’t look. I promise,” Phil said with a smile.

“I know. I just–ah, I don’t know. It’s just different I guess. I feel like exposed or like I might be making you uncomfortable or something if I just start stripping in the middle of the room or something,” Dan rambled.

“I can leave the room if that will make you feel more comfortable,” Phil proposed.

“No it’s fine. I don’t mind changing, I just didn’t want to make you feel like–ya know?” Dan said, his face flushing more and more as he tried to explain himself. 

“It’s okay Dan. I feel you,” Phil said genuinely. “Just get changed into your pajamas already.” He listened as Dan giggled as he got changed and couldn’t help but let a little snicker escape from his own lips.

“Don’t laugh. I don’t have any cool tattoos on my back to look at,” Dan said, still giggling himself.

“Oh so you’ve seen the dragon on my shoulder blade then?” Phil asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No…okay maybe,” Dan said with a large pause in the middle causing both of them to laugh.

“If you wanted to, you could get flowers down your spine or rib cage or something,” Phil proposed.

“I could never. I’m terrified of needles.” Dan mumbled as he got into bed. 

“You are?”

“Yeah,” Dan said, covering his face with one of his pillows.

“So am I.” Phil confessed.

-

After nearly two months of work, Phil had made a friend out of Dan. Phil liked the addition to his Wednesday “morning” routine of getting his iced coffee as well as a vanilla latte for Dan. He also liked going to dinner with Dan or walking around campus with him when they had nothing better to do or simply did not want to study. Phil also enjoyed going out with Dan when he needed to do photography projects. He got a weird satisfaction from watching Dan get up really close to something as simple as a leaf with a bug on it and take a picture of it, only to watch him edit it into something way more interesting later. 

Dan really had a talent for framing things to convey the desired mood. Many times Phil asked him to help set up his camera for the film projects that he had to do for his own classes, and Dan always did a spectacular job at capturing the sunlight or shadows and it always left Phil in awe. Another great thing Phil had never really noticed about Dan until he started talking more, was just how articulate he was. The way Dan formed words with his mouth were so clear and with a beautiful vocabulary. If he could, Phil would listen to him ramble on about his opinions about the universe until the sun came up.

“Phil, sometimes you confuse me,” Dan commented one afternoon when they were sitting outside in the grass.

Phil cocked his head to the side, “How so?”

“I don’t know. When you look at you and don’t know you I expected you to be mean and hardcore and stuff.”

“I’ll have you know I am most definitely very hardcore. Look at these snakebites,” Phil joked, running his tongue over them, making Dan roll his eyes.

“Yes and I’m totally metal because I have a choker on right now,” Dan teased. “No I mean you’re really sweet and nice. I mean since the start you’ve always been kind and always smiled at me and given me time to get comfortable and stuff,” Dan said with a sheepish grin as he played with the grass in front of him.

Phil smiled, “I guess this is mostly for aesthetic reasons. I really like the look, I like yours too. I’ve been meaning to tell you that you look really nice in pink and your flower crown with the spikes in it–pretty awesome stuff.”

Dan giggled and ran his hand over the crown he had on, “You think so? I’ve always wanted to dress like this but I was afraid to back in highschool, so I decided when I came to uni I would.”

“I like that attitude.” 

“I mean we only have one life, so we may as well do what makes us happy right?” Dan said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, we should,” Phil said, looking around at the other students enjoying the nice weather outside.

-

By the time fall had ended and winter was making its slow arrival, Phil sensed that he and Dan had some sort of a connection. He didn’t know how to explain it but aside from getting along, they understood how the other thought and what motivated them. Yeah, Phil loved it when Dan told him about his day and all the work that he did but he understood when Dan didn’t say a word about anything and just plugged into some music to do some work instead of talk. It was his way of recharging after an exhausting day around people.

Also, Dan understood why Phil always liked to talk so much. Even when he didn’t feel like talking he was always there to listen and chime in with a few words, but he knew that was Phil’s way of coping with stress and dealing with the long assignments and numerous late nights. They made a good pair for one another’s needs, especially when their thoughts got the best of them. 

“Hey Dan? Hey Dan, are you sleeping?” Phil whispered into their dark room. He was too lazy to look over and see what time it was but he was sure it was late and that Dan wasn’t sleeping because he could hear him tossing and turning in his bed. 

“Sadly no,” Dan replied, turning on his side to face Phil from his bed. 

“Can’t sleep either?” Phil asked.

“Not even a little,” Dan said as he got out of his own bed and sat on Phil’s.

“What are you thinking about?”

Dan shrugged, “A lot of things I guess. It started off as me thinking about my family and about even though I was so eager to get away from them, I kind of miss them. I guess I’m a little bit homesick, and then I just started thinking about myself and the way I am.”

“What do you mean?” Phil asked, shifting over so that Dan could lie down next to him if he wanted. He was surprised when Dan sighed and did. 

“That’s the thing, I don’t know. I always think I have myself all figured out and then I just retreat inwards when I am in a new situation or afraid or unsure or something.”

“I think you need to take a deep breath and let everything come easy. Not everything has a clear rational answer that can be worked out like a puzzle. It’s more of a scavenger hunt where we’re directed to the pieces before completing our personal lists and getting the prize at the end ya know? Piece by piece do we actually figure out who we are and what we really want in life,” Phil explained.

“You make it sound so simple. Like the universe doesn’t throw rocks in our rivers forcing us to work around them.”

“It does, but it’s all a part of the journey–no the adventure. It’s adventure not a trip. You don’t get down and dirty on a trip like you do on adventure,” Phil said with a giggle, pleased with his analogy. 

“I’m glad we’re friends,” Dan said with a yawn as he snuggled into Phil’s side. “You always know what to say.”

“I think I just have an answer for most things,” Phil said wrapping his arm around Dan. “I could never think up the things you think of.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to. Then your mind never stops turning,” Dan mumbled.

“That’s not always a bad thing. It makes for good inspiration and passion.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Dan said with a light chuckle. Phil didn’t say much, he kind of just rubbed Dan’s shoulder a bit and sighed as he looked around the dark room. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to make out with his eyes; he supposed it was just a habit of his to look at his surroundings. 

“You don’t mind if I sleep here, do you?” Dan asked, although he was pretty sure of the answer.

“Not at all,” Phil said.

“Thanks,” Dan said, closing his eyes. 

-

That wasn’t the first or the last time that that had happened. Over the course of several months Dan and Phil’s friendship had grown with relative ease. There was not much to say about how the other felt about the other that hadn’t been quietly exchanged in the way they talked and supported each other. There was no doubt that they were the other’s best friend and more: a set of ears to listen, a set of eyes to critique honestly, a mouth to say just what the other wanted to hear, a finger to lead into the right direction, a delicate push to seize the opportunities being offered to him, and so much more. 

Time was a stupid made up concept that worked wondrously. The intricate patterns had a way of knitting two people together, without diverging from the main focus of time as if it had started off that way and not progressed to that point. The apathetic grunge nerd became very fond of a black flower crown, and the shy boy in lilac was very much in love with a the red and black plaid shirt. 

The cool touch of metal on the side of his cheek, and the warm caress of someone literally as delicate as candy floss was something that Phil would have never guessed he would have found daydreaming in a coffee shop or just from being friendly and looking a little cool. 

“How was class?” Phil asked as he slid his hand into Dan’s and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Phil,” Dan whined with a blush, “You know how I feel about PDA.”

“Sorry cupcake,” Phil said, giving Dan another kiss, making him giggle.

“It was fine. I need help editing my project though, think you can handle that?” 

“Only if you help me scout locations for my short film.”

“It’s a date then,” Dan said with a smile as he squeezed Phil’s hand

 


End file.
